7 Rooms That Will Make You Want to Paint Your Ceilings

Ceilings are called the fifth wall for a reason. Along with offering ample design opportunity, a fresh coat of ceiling paint can quickly transform the ambience of an entire room. So to inspire your ceiling painting endeavors, we rounded up seven rooms, all from Apartment Therapy home tours, that will make you want to paint your ceiling ASAP.

Looking for an unexpected way to modernize a home with old architectural bones and vintage decor vibes? Take a cue from Meghan Lorenz’s Chicago apartment and employ a bold coat of ceiling paint to liven up a retro space.

Hoping to make a colorful statement without completely overwhelming the rest of the space? Follow in Roger and Chris Stout-Hazard’s footsteps and paint the top half of a tiny room in a daring paint color—like the fuchsia they used in their New York home office—and keep the bottom half white to balance it out.

Big fan of earth tones but still itching to play with a little bright color at home? Consider painting the ceiling of a neutral room with an eye-catching color—like the rich green shade that Isabelle and Brandon used in their Los Angeles cottage—to incorporate a surprising hue into the space.

Searching for an easy way to bring some graphic drama into your place? Paint your ceiling with a linear pattern in a pale color palette, like Alysia Sebastiani did in her small San Francisco kitchen, to forge a striking focal point that doesn’t distract from the rest of the room.

Scared of dark paint? Don’t be—because there are ways to use it to your advantage. Case in point: the black-painted ceiling in Lalita Adkins’ Arizona townhouse, which helps define the dining room area inside an otherwise lofty space.

Dreaming of painting your living room ceiling, but stuck with some tricky architectural details? Open up the space by painting your ceiling a color similar to your walls, but keep your exposed beams neutral, just like Kristen Tola Hettich did in her ocean-hued California living room.

Painted ceilings are an awesome way to experiment with contrast, even in an already colorful space. Offset deep-colored walls with a boldly painted (or wallpapered) ceiling, just like Miranda Lake did in her eclectic New Orleans home.